The Golden Goose
by Sandy Star
Summary: A boy striving for attention from his family gets his long awaited chance to prove himself at last. But things don't go as planned as destiny himself shows up in his path. A oneshot based on 'The Golden Goose' by the Grimm Brothers. Rated T for a cruel treatment from his family.


**Warning: '**Child' neglect/abuse/cruelty and mildly bad language in some parts

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**The Golden Goose**

The grumbling monster that was my stomach was trying its best today. My arms were practically glued to my abdomen to smother the sound. Not that it helped much. My brothers have been sniggering at me for the past minute.

As much as I wished to eat, I didn't dare ask Mother for food. She was in a bad mood today and the last thing I would want to do is worsen it.

Not that the smells of fresh bread wafting from the oven helped any.

Father got himself injured on one of his trips to the forest yesterday. He was a woodcutter and the only one who worked in the family so Father being out of commission was pretty bad. Needless to say, Mother wasn't pleased.

My oldest brother, Hansel, took the opportunity to volunteer to take Father's place. He had accompanied Father several times before but he had never gone on his own before. It was a moment of pride for Mother so she decided to go all out with his lunch.

He was getting the seldom seen white bread with a generous helping of fried bacon. I can feel the corner of my mouth watering and I sucked it back in. There was no use in desiring what _I_ wasn't getting.

The food was done and my brother got ready to set off. He took the pack containing his lunch and he picked up Father's axe. Before he went, Mother handed him a bottle of ale. "Do your mother proud, Hansel."

He flashed a cocky grin and waved his hand nonchalantly. "Will do! I'm off!"

I watched him go and wished him well in my mind.

xxxxxxxxxx

Unfortunately, Hansel came back with a deep gash in his leg. Apparently he missed a tree with the axe and hit his own leg. I winced when I caught a glimpse of his injury and I wondered if he could ever walk again.

Mother was fawning over him and tended to his every need._ "My poor son! Everyone makes mistakes, don't worry!"_ She said.

It was my other brother's, Roddy's, turn to go to the forest today. Because Hansel came home empty handed, someone had to bring back wood. Our supply was running out.

Mother had given Roddy the same lunch that she gave Hansel. As we saw him off, Mother couldn't help but worry. "Take care of yourself, please!"

He merely laughed with an air of confidence that I secretly wished to have myself. "Of course I will!"

I stared at the trail of dried blood that belonged to Hansel and then to the relaxed back of my older brother. I had a bad feeling...

Biting my lip in uncertainty, I hoped that Roddy would come back safely.

xxxxxxxxxx

Roddy came back but with an identical injury to Hansel. Now we had three grown men restricted to their beds.

I felt bad for Mother, having to look after my brothers as well as Father. They were proving to be such handfuls, so I wasn't surprised to see that Mother was looking to be ready to throw a fit.

I waited until she was entirely busied with preparing their lunch when I carefully made my suggestion.

"Um, Mother?"

"What?!" she snapped nearly cutting herself with the knife instead of the carrot.

"Ah, um... I'm not sure if I would be the best choice but..." I grew hesitant at the fierce look she was giving me but her impatience prompted me to stop stalling. "I can go get wood. If you want..."

Mother scoffed mockingly. "Ha! You of all people! You wouldn't even last a minute out in the forest."

She let out a loaded sigh and suddenly all signs of mirth was gone. "I suppose we don't have a choice, though. Just... go."

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Just when I was about to set off to the forest, Mother stopped me by the door. I nearly dropped Father's axe when she shoved a bag onto my free arm.

"That's your lunch, idiot. It's nothing special, mind you, just a mouldy lump of bread from last week and stale ale. Don't you dare come back with your leg chopped in half or I _will_ _kill_ you myself, you got that?"

I nodded meekly and left, pronto.

As soon as my back was turned to her, the smile on my face was uncontrollable.

xxxxxxxxxx

Despite never holding an axe before in my life, I've had experience in the forest. Though I never chopped any trees, being kicked out the house frequently, sickeningly starving, I had to learn to forage for any food out in the wilderness from a very young age. I was familiar with my surroundings and I knew I could handle myself.

The only difference was that I didn't need to look for food. I had _lunch_ with me.

Since Mother gave me that lunch, I had been feeling easily giddy. The very word gave me warm and fuzzy tingles. It was the first time she gave me lunch for when I go out. And she did it out of her own accord too!

I didn't care if they were leftovers, I had lunch from Mother!

As I journeyed on, shamelessly skipping along, I spotted a man leaning against the side of a tree. He looked rather ill so I approached him out of concern.

"Are you okay, sir?" I asked, kneeling down to his height.

He was a small man with a long bushy beard. Laugh lines decorated the edges of his mouth and when he looked up at me with kindly eyes, I couldn't help but feel a sort of kinship with him. I felt that I could treat him like a friendly uncle of mine.

"Ah." His voice cracked and it seemed to be painful for him to speak. "You seem like a nice young man... Can you spare me a drink?"

I obliged, lacking any suspicion for his honesty, handing him the flask of ale Mother had packed. The man chugged it down ferociously like he hadn't drank in days, which I wouldn't come as a surprise to me seeing his rugged appearance.

When he was done, he handed the flask back with a loud satisfied sigh. "That hit the spot... You have my gratitude, young man."

I glanced in the contents of the flack. There was a quarter left. I frowned. He should have drank more. He needed it more than me.

"Now that I have the energy, I can get going..." The man made to get up but I put a hand to his shoulder to stop him.

"Are you really in such a rush? Why don't you join me for lunch? I was planning on taking a rest soon anyway."

I didn't voice my thoughts aloud in case the man got defensive with his pride (as it often happened with Father), but it looked like he needed to eat something. I couldn't abandon him knowing that he was so famished...

The man stared at me curiously for a moment. "Alright." he agreed.

I smiled and sat down beside him. I knew I didn't have much with me but some food was better than no food. I would have allowed the man to have my entire, although meagre, lunch if he wanted it.

I opened my pack and took out a loaf of white bread. I blinked in confusion, rubbed my eyes to clear my vision but it didn't change. The pristine white bread with not a spot of green was _real_.

Rummaging around in the bag rewarded me with a slice of bacon and a slice of cheese.

I could have sworn-

"What's wrong?" The man had carefully watched me stare at the food like it had mushrooms growing on it. Which I wouldn't be so shocking to see if I had what I was supposed to.

I shook my head. "It's nothing."

It had to be Mother's mistake. I considered returning the food but it would be awfully rude to deny the man right after I offered. Not to mention downright cruel. I hoped that the punishment was light tonight.

I split the meal in half between us and we feasted. Though a very pathetic feast, we were both grateful with what we had.

I found the man to be the most pleasant company I ever had. He was jolly man and had a deep bellowing laugh that you wouldn't expect from someone his size. I started thinking that he might seriously be a long lost uncle with the natural comfort I felt just moments of being around him.

"Hey, what's your name sonny?"

I pondered the question while chugging down the last of the ale, pleasantly surprised to taste something not sour. "I would tell you if I remembered it."

The man's face wrinkled in disbelief. "You forgot your own _name_?"

"Well, I think I was given one by my parents when I was born. But, over the years, my name started to be replaced by things like 'Idiot' and 'Moron', until it became my name." I shrugged at his dropped jaw. "You can call me that if you want to."

"Like _hell_ I would want to!" My head snapped as the small man stood up violently and ground his teeth together. "How could they dismiss such a good boy right under their noses and treat him l-like _trash_?! The stupidity of humans never have a limit! And you!" I flinched in fear when his heated gaze turned on me. "You...you deserve so much better..."

I watched the man try to reel in his emotions when a sudden realisation dawned. He wasn't getting angry _at_ me. But... I couldn't understand. "W-why would you get angry for someone like me?"

The man rubbed his temples and sighed. All of a sudden, I was struck by how_ age-old_ he appeared at that moment. "For centuries, I have been looking for a pure and kind-hearted soul so genuine and rare in this disaster of a world. Someone who would restore my faith in humanity before I crack and destroy them myself. I have tested countless men before you, rich and poor alike, but they were all far too corrupted. But you," He gave me a levelled look. "You gave me your bread and ale despite being critically malnourished yourself. Even your own kin, who were fit and healthy as if they were the sons of the gods compared with you, spared me not a glance at my pleas of help and they paid the price with my curse. Pray tell me, why are you so different?"

His speech thoroughly confused me but I understood one thing and it was that this man was many times more powerful than he looked. I swallowed nervously in the pressure. "Y-you seemed to need the help more than me so... I couldn't bear to leave you alone... I-I"

My throat felt thick and blocked with gunge._ I understood, I knew how bad it felt to be __left out of the merrier things other people enjoyed. Left out in the cold, punishing, dark._

"I see." The man nodded sagely, as if he had seen something I hadn't. "Boy, as a reward for your kindness, I will grant you one wish and one wish only. What is it that you want?"

I considered the question. A wish? In my entire life, there was only one thing that I ever truly wanted. "Love. I want my family to love me."

The man closed his eyes and a minute later he clicked his tongue. "That is impossible. If you had asked for all the gold in the world I would have given it to you. But I cannot influence your family's mind. It was already decided by the fates that you will never gain recognition from your family. They will _never_ love you, no matter what you do."

"Oh." I tried not to look disappointed. But being told that my only wish to really _be_ part of my family was hopeless felt like the final nail in the coffin.

The man seemed to have easily caught on to my inner despair nevertheless. "I apologise for your misfortunes, child. However, there is a better alternative for your wish."

Out of the blue, he pressed two fingers against my forehead. I felt the coolness of his fingers spread across the inside of my head for a few seconds before they retreated.

The man took a step back. "Go further into the woods and you will find a withering old tree. Cut that down and you will find the guide to your fortune. I wish you luck on your journey... Perhaps, out there, you will find a new family..."

Within a single blink, the man disappeared from sight.

I stood up and brushed the crumbs off my lap. I picked up the axe and studied it in my hands.

"I should go chop a tree!" I declared, sporting a perky grin on my face.

Focusing entirely on the new-found (or was it something I set off to do in the first place?) task, I ignored the beauties of nature that I might have stopped to admire – had it been some other time.

No, the sudden impulse to go chop a tree was impossible to overcome. I _had to _go chop a tree.

It didn't take long to find a tree. Well, when you were in the woods you see trees everywhere. But I had a specific tree in mind. An old, gnarled, leafless tree whose roots were wide spread and poked well above the ground. Odd, I never seen that tree before but why did I have such a clear image of it?

My feet continued on until finally, upon stumbling across a clearing, a tree perfectly matching the one in my mind appeared in reality. It slouched over tiredly, like an old man with a bad back.

I climbed over its roots and got to work, swinging the blade of the axe in an arc onto the base of the tree over and over again. It was difficult; as weakened as it was, it was not a small tree. In my inexperience, I could only rely on my memory of seeing someone do it a few times before. It was... who was it again?

My thought process was cut off when the tree started to tip over. I hastily hopped backwards, abandoning the axe, and hollered: "Tiiimbeeer!"

Although it was unnecessary; no one was around to need the warning.

The resulting crash made the ground quiver for a few terrifying moments but my body shook more from anticipation. I was... expecting something to happen. What was it?

The dust from the impact settled and I looked around the clearing. Nothing but the toppled tree and newly-made stump. I furrowed my brow in confusion before hearing something quite... ridiculous in this sceme.

It sounded like a... quack?

The source of the noise came from the stump and I stumbled over to it, feeling befuddled. The stump was hollow but that wasn't the strangest thing. It was what was contained in it.

With no foliage to cover the sunlight in the clearing, the bright glint of gold that reflected to merciless rays, blinded me for at first before my eyes adjusted. What I saw wasn't the metal I had been expecting but a bird. A goose, in fact.

She was just as shiny and gold as the metal (not that I ever had the fortune to cast my eyes on it before...?) and I would have been convinced she was a statue had she decided not to attack me in the next moment.

"Yipes! Ow! Ow! Please stop!" If that hadn't had proven that she was every bit as alive as I was, then I didn't know what did.

In an attempt to stop the mad goose, I grabbed her and held her out at arm's length. Seeing as she couldn't reach me any more, the goose opted for sticking its head up in the air pompously.

I chuckled despite my pain. "Little spitfire, aren't you?"

Now that it was relatively safe, I took a closer look at the goose. The gold colour wasn't a trick of the light; each and every feather had a metallic golden sheen and was as hard and cold as any other metal. Despite this, she felt as light as any ordinary goose.

Suddenly, I felt her start to tremble in my hands. I let her down in case she was scared or hurt in some way. Still, the goose had its eyes shut as if holding something back and the trembling didn't cease until a quiet 'pop' was sounded. Then she returned to looking stony-faced.

Was that what I thought it was?

To confirm my suspicions, I lifted the odd goose up in the air again. Underneath her was a freshly-laid, large, golden egg.

Tucking the goose under the crook of my arm, I used my free hand to inspect the egg.

Just like the goose, it was cold and hard. Unlike the goose though, it was heavy for an egg. It was solid gold... I think.

I stared at the goose in a new light. "That must have been difficult for you..."

Unappreciative of my sympathy, she turned her head away from me. I simply smiled at this behaviour.

I glanced back at the hollow, the goose's former home. She must have been awfully lonely in there... At that moment, good idea presented itself to me.

"Hey, do you want to come with me? I'm currently travelling the world so you'll get to see all sorts of new things. It'll be fun, I promise!"

The goose gave a short quack, still facing away from me. Even so, she didn't make any attempt to struggle out of my grip so I took it as an affirmative.

Well, I guess my new adventure begins. But what was this niggling feeling in my heart? It was telling, pleading for me to turn around and join my-

A ruthless peck on my side snapped me out of my reverie and made me drop the goose. She stomped forward purposely with her little webbed feet like a general leading his troops.

"Hey! Wait for me!" I cried. All previous thoughts forgotten, I chased after the goose.

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**A/N:** I'm not dead! I haven't uploaded anything in a year and I don't have any decent excuse, that I'll admit. But I do believe that I've improved my writing skills a bit since the last time so I hope it'll make up for my absence.

Okay, this is a slightly darker take on the original fairy tale by the Grimm Brothers because someone who willingly abandons his family in a time of need _cannot_ be a kind person. So I made the mysterious man erase all memories of his family. It made more sense to me.

The protagonist here is probably around sixteen or eighteen despite how childish he sounds. But he doesn't ever leave beyond the house or the forest so with only his critical family for company, constantly being treated as the idiot youngest son, it makes him very inexperienced. And the man calls him a child because that's simply how he sees him, being as old as he is.

Expect a sequel oneshot soon!


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